Diamonds

INDIANAPOLIS DIAMONDS

It is said that a diamond is a girl’s best friend. If that is true, then finding the right diamond is critical to creating the perfect jewelry. (Remember, it’s not about size.) Even if you aren’t a diamond expert, the Master Jewelers staff will guide you in the art of choosing a diamond that will make your loved one sparkle with delight.

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DIAMOND EDUCATION

We believe, the more information you have, you will be able to confidently find or design jewelry that is uniquely you.

THE MASTER JEWELERS 4C’s OF DIAMOND BUYING

So, the time has come for you to get down on your knee and deliver a sparkling surprise to your love. Of course, you want everything about this moment to be absolutely perfect, including the diamond. The process of purchasing a diamond can be overwhelming, but finding the perfect diamond is easier than you may think with Master Jewelers. If you are a first-time buyer, or just need a refresher course, our diamond experts and Graduate Gemologists can tell you all you need to know about the 4C’s: Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight.

Cut

Perhaps the most important when it comes to determining a diamond’s value and beauty is the cut of the gem. When speaking of cut, we are referring not to the shape of the stone, but rather to the angles of the facets and how they interact with light. The beautiful sparkle you see in a diamond is broken down into three factors: fire (the prismatic colors), brilliance (the white sparkle), and scintillation (the flashes of light seen as the diamond or the observer moves.) The more precise the cut, the more fire, brilliance, and scintillation you will see, and the more captivating the diamond will be to the eye. Because of this, a diamond with excellent cut can be valued at up to 50% higher than poorly cut stones, given that all other quality factors are equal. Visit Master Jewelers to experience the sparkle of excellent cut diamonds.

Color

Not all diamonds are colorless. The presence of a slight amount of nitrogen in a diamond’s crystalline structure will cause varying shades of a yellow or brown hue. Because of this, the Gemological Institute of America devised a D though Z color grading scale, with D being most colorless and Z having the most yellow or brown appearance. Diamonds also form with other trace elements in their structure, such as boron, which create other colors like, blue, pink, and red. These diamonds, along with more highly saturated brown and yellow diamonds, are graded using terms like Fancy, Fancy Light, and Fancy Intense. In the D through Z color grading scale, colorless diamonds (D) are most rare, but overall, natural red diamonds are most rare. Visit Master Jewelers and allow our diamond experts to show you the ins and outs of diamond color grading.

Clarity

Another important quality factor to look for when buying the perfect diamond is clarity. The clarity grade of a diamond is determined by its amount of internal characteristics, known as inclusions, as well as its external characteristics, known as blemishes. Inclusions can be things like different mineral crystals that have been trapped in the diamond while it formed or disruptions in the crystalline structure which give the visual effect of wispy white lines. Blemishes can be small surface areas where a section of the diamond was left unpolished and rough or tiny chips or bruises. A flawless diamond, which has neither inclusions nor blemishes, is a very rare find, and this will be reflected in the price. When a grader looks at clarity, he or she uses 10x magnification and specific lighting to determine the diamond’s clarity grade based on the particular characteristics that are seen. The specific types and patterns of inclusions and blemishes are unique to each specific diamond, almost like our fingerprints. Visit Master Jewelers and our diamond experts will show you how to look at your diamond’s identifying clarity characteristics.

Carat Weight

You might already know this one! The carat is the unit of measurement that is used to illustrate a diamond’s weight. One carat is equal to one fifth (1/5) of a gram, which is then divided into 100 points. Diamonds can range in size from a fraction of a point up to several carats. Considering the rarity of large stones, however, the price increases rapidly with size; a single 2-carat diamond will cost much more than two 1-carat diamonds. This is mainly due to the carat weight that is lost during the faceting process. Up to 50% of a rough diamond is lost when faceting a round brilliant diamond. Very large diamonds with good color and clarity are very rare.

Certification – The optional 5th “C”

Many, but not all, diamonds are certified by laboratories that specialize in diamond grading. Unfortunately, though they may use the same grading scales, the grades that each lab places on the same diamond can vary greatly. This is why it is very important to view your diamond and determine how you feel about its cut, color, clarity, and carat weight, which all combine together to equal your diamonds value. Visit Master Jewelers to learn about each of the four C’s, view diamonds graded by different labs, and choose the diamond perfect for you!